Hello
I would be interested in what you know about armour and shield embossing. Have you ever made it? How to start it? What tools do I need for it? Do you know any good books about it(I want to order this book: Heroic Armor of the Italian Renaissance Filippo Negroli and His Contemporaries)? If you have any informations please write it!
Thanks,
David

The art is called repousse. You can find lots of info online...including whole forums on similar jewlery work and such. You can also look up the Helmschmidt family who also worked repousse in the same time period. About a year ago the Spanish had an incredible collection of Negroli and Helmschmidt armour on worl tour called the Art of Power. If you can find the museum book it contains a wealth of pictures. http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/armorinfo.htm

The work is usually done in two times :
- first by working from behind (the reverse side of the metal sheet)
- then finishing the details by working on the front

You need a lot of tools of various size and shape, that have to be carefully polished. These are usually "home made" by the craftsman himself. You also need a small hammer for chiseling.
The metal sheet is "glued" in some special wax the prevents it from moving while you're working, but smooth enough to allow embossing.

Hello
Thank you for this infos. I would be grateful to hear more from this special wax. If anyone has any experiences about repousse please write it.
Thanks,
David

I would start out by picking up this book here, although it is in English:

http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.0871922401.html

Repousse and embossing are really in the Jeweler's trade more than the steel worker, so you'll definitely want to scope out Jewelry technique books, but this book covers all materials. A GREAT reader and primer to all kinds of metalworking.

its not wax, its pitch... seriously... try google there is lots of information if you just look for stuff under repusse and the Names Negroli and Helmschmidt for armour. If you start with jewlery work in soft metals you could probably even find some place where you could take a class.

how about that... http://www.metalchasing.com a whole forum dedicated to this stuff.